​Mountain ranges to Channel Country 24-27 September 2017

A view over the great expanse of the Thomson flood plains from Swanvale Jump Up.

From driving through wrap-around ranges and iron ridges in the east Kimberley to driving long dry stretches in the Lake Eyre Basin and Channel country. The contrasts on our homeward journey have been quite spectacular.
For days we have driven through Mitchell grass downs, the vista changing every 30-40km with Jump Ups popping up on the horizon every now and then. These are remnants of a very old landscape and have survived because they are capped with very hard rock rich in iron and aluminium. Add water and high temperatures and voila! Solid caps. Terrific vantage points to look out over vast plains and near Stonehenge the Swanvale Fault, centre of earthquake activity in the area.

We're in desert country and here's an Eremophila! As we drive along I was reading about the various species one of which is the Eremophila polyclada - Flowering Lignum so named because it looks like Lignum. And voila there it was! I was shocked. We screeched to a halt and I jump out - in the 41 degree heat. What some people will do for a flower.

Lovely isn't it!? I think that's an ant who met his end wandering through the labyrinth of tiny hairs in the throat of the flower. I am on a hunt for more species. It's hard when they're not in flower but I reckon I've seen a few with green fruit along the way.

This beauty which provides much needed shade, is an Acacia cambagei, Gidgee. Very hard wood but a bit smelly it seems.

This is a dried out native well. Obviously no longer protected

Place names which have intrigued me for ages - Quilpie, Cooper Creek, Thargomindah were places happily discovered with solemn promises to return. It's an area of massive rivers at flood but drought affected most of the year. Stonehenge gets about 300mm pa and that falls over a few weeks. When their river, the Thomson, floods it reaches 22km wide and is over 6m deep in places. This river joins the might Cooper as it meanders and braids its way towards Lake Eyre. Yet they reckon that only 1% of the massive water front of the Thomson reaches Lake Eyre; they lose ~3metres of water to evaporation. And as we passed over these now quiet rivers, the words of Banjo Paterson echoed in my head and 'visions come to me of Clancy gone a-droving down the Cooper' .......
it's a region of earth quakes, rain, flood and drought - and white ghost gums which leap out stark white infrequently enough to surprise you. Did I say I love a sunburnt country! Indeed I do.

The mighty Cooper Creek. When did you ever see a creek this side - and it is not at flood at the moment. Look carefully and you can see a few dots in the water. People swimming. I am guessing from the house boat but there were also some people camped along the bank.

The Cooper from the other side of the bridge. I so want to be there when it floods.

No idea what this is. Pretty delicate flower but deadly prickles and a prickle coated 'fruit'. We saw them on the edge of newly sealed roads obviously come in with the road material. A weed I am guessing?

Anyone have any idea what this is. The 'fruit' looks vaguely familiar but I can't find it listed. Any clues? I found it at Windorah

This is the tree. A very young one I think.